Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Reviewing a new TV show requires a certain gift for prognostication. I have to comment on the quality of the first episode, but also guess where the quality level is going from there. Some series pilots give me enough information that I feel like I'm sitting in the command center of the National Weather Service, with real-time barometric pressure data at my fingertips. The pilot for "The Nine" makes me feel like all I can do is spit on my thumb and hold it up to see which way the wind is blowing.

As a self-contained pilot episode, "The Nine" is one of the two or three best -- probably the best -- of an outstanding new season. The characters are vivid, the concept exciting and the execution flawless. And yet it gives me absolutely no clue how good the show will be next week -- or even what it might look like.

To read the rest, click here. We'll also use this as the place to comment on the pilot tonight

5 comments:

filmcricket
said...

I'll definitely come back to see what's next - so good to see so many of those faces back on TV(particularly Michael O'Neill, who rules).

One problem though: Alex Graves. I actually switched off West Wing episodes he'd directed, because all of all the shaking and spinning. I hope he's not in the permanent director pool for this show, or I'm going to have to invest in some Gravol.

Graves is an EP, so I expect he'll be back. And Michael O'Neill may not be around for long--he apparently is a regular on "3 lbs." (House with brain surgeons!) which is a midseasoner on CBS.

My problem with this one is the same one I had when I watched the "Smith" pilot. This is a darn fine 2.5 hour Michael Mann film--it's just not showing itself as a sustainable TV show, especially for the longer term.

I liked The Nine quite a bit. Mainly I watched it for the actors, but there was a good twist around the 30 minute mark. And I like this idea of just following these people around as they share a connection.

It took about five minutes to remind me why I hate so many primetime crime dramas: The flashy nonsense edits that are supposed to fool the viewer into thinking more's going on than there is. I respect Lost all the more for avoiding that nonsense.

Beyond Fox' presence, doesn't the dinner conceit feel like a direct Party of Five nod/steal? And I wonder where Julia, Claudia and Owen Salinger are practicing surgery. Seems to run in the family.